Good question on the patent. Software patents are interesting... because you have to release your proprietary algorithms/codes. Most companies do NOT patent software because making those things public allows a competitor to go in, copy and paste the code and change some relatively minor things to have it operate the same way.
For example... Google never patented its search algorithm because making the variables public would be a disaster for competitors and anyone who likes to game SEO.
So for the patent? Not terribly concerned about a patent.
Now for revenue models:
This Citizen Toke platform is sending texts from dispensaries to users.
I see two options...
1. Charge dispensaries on a 'per-text-sent' basis. Revenue = avg # of texts sent per user * # of users
2. Charge dispensaries subscription for up to X amount or unlimited texts (charge different rates for cut off points). -> Revenue = avg rev/dispensary * # of dispensaries.
So a caveat for 1 is that the users will NEED a large number of dispensaries to find value in the offering. You wouldn't want repeated texts from 2 or 3 dispensaries.
A caveat for 2 is that dispensaries would demand a large number of users because if they send texts to the same user again and again, they aren't acquiring NEW customers. Most dispensaries already have a loyalty program which kind of nullifies the value proposition to using Citizen Toke with a low number of users. On the flip side, with unlimited texts, dispensaries could saturate the user base with an absurd amount of texts making it an awful user experience.
The take away? If one of these two revenue models is true then the overlap makes it essential for Citizen Toke to have a LARGE number of users AND a LARGE number of dispensaries on board. Personally, I would think number 1 so they can control the number of texts received by user.
It seems so far that they are realizing this logic and working hard to get dispensary partnerships while pursuing user acquisition. Hopefully, both groups become so used to using the platform that monetizing is a no-brainer.
For reference -> In Denver alone the population is 660K. On average, you have 12% of the population that smokes monthly. We'll call it 10% for simplicity sake and say 600K as population. So 60K people are within the target market for Citizen Toke. www.denverpost.com/2014/12/26/marijuana-use-increases-in-colorado-according-to-new-federal-survey/
What percent of this market can Citizen Toke penetrate? 1%? 10%? 50%? (600, 6000, 30000 people).
In monetizing these users, what do we expect average revenue per user/ per month?
On the low end, 1 user receives 1 text a week (4 per month) - so far based on DeezNuts experience, people receive MORE than that. Say they charge per text sent instead of an unlimited subscription model. Charge 2 cents a text sent? Assume no COGS (doesn't cost anything to send a text or near close to zero). 0.02*4*# of users = monthly rev. to hit 40K they need 500 thousand users. What about 25 cents per text sent? They need 40 thousand users to hit 40K monthly revenue.
Hopefully, they charge more than 2 cents! although that's just mine.
Hypothetically if they have enough users AND they get the number of texts sent per user per month AND they get a solid competitve pricing model, they could break even in Denver alone.
